Downtown Art, a company that collaborates with teen actors, writers, composers and musicians, will present The Bowery Wars, Part 1, beginning tomorrow. The show takes place on the streets, starting at Lafayette & Jersey streets, and ending at Forsyth. Act 2 is performed in a vacant lot at 19 East 3rd Street.

Downtown Art sets the stage: In the fall of 1903, tensions on the Lower East Side are reaching a breaking point. Two powerful gangs – The Five Pointers and the Eastmans – battle for control of the Bowery, its saloons, dance halls, theaters, and back room gambling dens. Tammany Hall, now reorganized after the exposure of its corruption and graft, is determined to retake City Hall. As these turf wars rage, two young immigrants – Romeo and Juliet – seek a path out of a hostile world.

The production is led by writer/director Ryan Gilliam and composer Mike Hickey.

A new project at 154 Madison would block the windows of a condo building on the adjacent lot.

The old auto repair shop on the corner of Madison and Pike streets has been shuttered for several years. But something interesting might begin happening here in the not-too-distant future.

Longtime Chinatown resident Way Moy recently asked Community Board 3 to support his plan to build an eight story residential building on the site, 154 Madison Street, property that’s been in his family for many years. Since the parcel is zoned only for commercial use, Moy needs the approval of the NYC Board of Standards and Appeals.

Chef RJ Cooper pilots his soon-to-open D.C. restaurant on the Lower East Side. The Washingtonian sums up opening night at “Limited Time Only,” the former Broadway East space: “Interesting but perplexing and, in the end, vaguely disappointing.”

As previously reported, Police are trying to find a suspect who tried to rape a woman in a building stairwell April 14th. They say he used a knife to force her from an elevator in the Laguardia Houses on Clinton Street, but she was able to fight him off and he fled. Now the NYPD has released surveillance video clearly showing the suspect:

Investigators believe the suspect is also responsible for the rape of a woman in another part of the Laguardia public housing complex on the morning of January 18th, 2010.

The suspect is described as 17 to 25 years old, 5-feet-8-inches to 5-feet-10-inches tall and heavy set. If you have information about either incident, call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting tips to 274637 (CRIMES) — enter TIP577.

We’re getting a respite from the rain! Mostly sunny and 68 today. Sunny with a high in the upper 60’s on Saturday. More of the same Sunday. It’s a weekend full of outdoor events. Tomorrow, the LES Kids’ Art Bike Parade is held in East River Park. Sunday, a puppet performance in Luther Gulick Park. Check out our Calendar for many more activities.